Index or record device



J. H. RAND, JR., ET AL April 29, 1930.

INDEX OR RECORD DEVICE Filed Feb, 2, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l @boa April 29, 1930.

1. H. RAND. JR., ET AL INDEX OR RECORD DEVICE Filed Feb. V2, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 Fatentecl Apr. 29, 1,930

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES H. BAND, JR., OF lTONAWANDA, AND LOUIS C. BROECKER, OF BUFFALO, NEW

YORK, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 REMINGTON RAND INC., OF YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE INDEX 0R- RECORD DEVICE Application filed February 2, 1924. Serial N'o. 690,284.

This invention relates to improvements in trays or devices adapted to' support index cards7 card holders or other record bearing matter. More particularly the invention relates to devices of this sort which are formed of sheet metal, and are adapted to be slidably arranged one above another onv partitions or other supports in an enclosing cabinet or case.

Trays or supports of this sort have hereto fore been provided, having aback or bottom part on which the record-bearing cards are adapted to rest, and which engages and rests on the cabinet partitionsy or other supports, sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom part with their upper edges in a plane adjacent to, or in contact with, the partition above, said side walls being arranged adjacent to or substantially engaging the side members or walls of the cabinet to guide the trayy orv slide in its movements intoand out of the cabinet. v f

The cards or card holders are sometimes provided with flaps or tongues whereby an edge of one card or card holderv may be inserted beneath the flapy or tongue of an adjacent card or cardholder to maintain themv in overlapping, nested arrangement with the free edges of the cards projecting one bevond the other. The cards are further provided with lateral lugs or parts and the side wallsvof the trays are often provided with spaced, depending side flanges adapted to engage lateral lugs on the cards to retain V'the cards in their intended overlapping arrangement, lying substantially flaton the back or vbottom part of the tray whilethe side flanges of the tray permit sliding movements of the cards in the tray and prevent their transverse displacement thereon ATrays of the sort mentioned havey further` been provided withhinged or pivoted coverl plates formed of thin` sheets'V of metal or other material, one.of which is usually arranged at an end of a tray and is adapted to lie on and protect theupper `exposed face of the first or uppermost card orY holder of the card series. The cover,Y plate is thereby positioned substantiallyparallel with and lies adjacent to the' cabinet partition immediately above the tray onwhich the cover plate is secured. v v

In trays of this type in ywhich the lower surface of the bottom or back part and the outer surfaces of the side walls contact substantially throughout the whole area'of these being .liable to stick or freeze therein. Vhen the trays and cabinets are provided with an enameled or other finish, as is customary, this finish is marred or broken, making the trays and cabinets very unsightly. The relatively great amount of friction requires the expendi- Y ture of an unnecessary amount of energy in inserting and withdrawing the trays, when it is remembered that "these trays or slides are handled many times each day. Further, the somewhatrough or sharp edges of the depending cardengaging flanges of thetray rub on the side lugs of the cards andv wear them to a harmful degree, due to the moving of the cards or holders relatively thereto, as well as preventing free and easy sliding ymovements of the cards, due to friction caused by the roughened edges referred to. Alsor the cards 0r holders, after use, may buckle or bulge sufficiently to press the cover plate againstthe under surface of the adjacent cabinet partition and cause it to drag and Wear thereon in the use of thevtray, with theresult that friction is present to an undesirable extent and the. cover plate also becomes marred and unsightly.

The objects of 'the present to provide card trays or slides, practically all porti-ons of which are spaced from the parts of the cabinet in vwhich they'y are inserted and in which the parts which do contact with the cabinet parte are of different-form or anguinvention yare SVG Vtion of astray supported tliei'ein, togetlier larity from the parts with which they contact; also to provide a tray having rounded surfaces of the tray out of conta-ct with the cabinet parts, thereby reducing friction and wear to a minimum 5V also to construct the depending card-engaging side flanges of the tray so that their edges will bearfon the card lugs with the minimum of wear and 'friction and so that the edges of the body portions of the cards will be held out of contact with the side surfaces of the flanges, whereby the life of the cards or card holders will be prolonged; also to provide a tray or slide having the bottom supporting part, side walls and dependlng card-engaging flanges all formed of a onepiece sheet metal stamping, thereby simplifying'the production and reducing the cost of 'Y production, while still maintaining a strong, rigid structure of minimum weight; also to construct an improved cover plate of sheet metal or lilre material' having parts adapted to maintain the major part of the surface of the cover plate out of contact with the adjacent cabinet partition or part, thereby reducing friction and Wear On the covei plate and preserving its original finished appearance; also to improve and simplify the construction of card index trays or slides in thev other respects hereinafterset fort-hl and claimed. ln the accompanying drawings: Y

Fig. l is a plan view of a tray or slide and cover plate constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig.A 2 is a side elevation thereof partly in section. l y Y Fig. is an enlarged, transverse, sectional elevation of the ti'ayand cover plate, showing it in position on a supporting partition of a cabinet, apart only of ai cabinet being Ashown in section. n 1 Y' F ig. et' isa fragmentary longitudinal section of the tray and cabinet on line Ll-,

Fig. '5 is aV fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a cabinet, showing the front porwith a sectional perspective of a portion of another tray. i l Y The card tray or support preferably includes aV bottom or'bacl;` portion A, side Walls 'B having spaced,Y overhanging flanges C adapted to engage tongues orv portions Dion the cards or holders E, which project beneath the flanges, whereby the cards Orholders are maintained in Vsliding engagement in the tray. The tray also includes` a front Awall F Y having apertures for'the display of designatlabels or thelike, handle or'pull'G, a

'rear-wall' H, and a removable "bach stop I i against which one end of the series of cards is adapted to abut to limit the longitudinal movements of the cards in one direction on the tray. The tray or slide, as thus far described, is of usual form adapting it to be used in a cabinet such as the cabinet K shown, said cabinet having partitions or the like L, or other supporting means, between which the trays may slide and on which they are supported. The cabinet also has Side Walls or members M between which the trays slide and are guided in their movements in and out of the cabinet. Any cabinet embodying these general features maybe used. f

According to the invention, the traysv are so constructed that the major portions thereof are maintained spaced from-the parts of the cabinet when the trays are inserted therein and the principal bearing parts which do contact with parts of .the cabinet are of different shape, .form vor angulari-ty from the parts of the cabinet on which they move. ln

the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the bottom portion A of the tray, side walls B and lianges Care formed integrally from a single sheet .ofV Ametal, and means are provided whereby the outer surfaces of these bottom and sidewall portions are maintained out of contact with the cabinet parts, said Vmeans constituting bearings which arev adapted to yengage the tray supports and move thereon with the least possible friction. rlhese adapted to form guides for theA tray in its movements into andV out of the cabinet. kFor use with a cabinet such as illustrated, wherein the sides of the cabinet and the partitions means are also Y meet at substantially right angles, the means L with the sidewalls M of the cabinet and y thus supportand guide the tray in its movements into andl out of the cabinet with its bottoni and -side faces out of contact therecard-engaging flanges C of the tray are prefrcrably connected Yby longitudinal, rounded,V

connecting portions l2, which are arranged Vwith. The opposite side walls B and spaced Y so as tolie in afplane adjacent the partition y or part L ofthe cabinet immediately above thetray, so that ifa the tray, in its movements in the cabinet, should engage this pare Vtition or part, it will do so with the minimum of friction due-to the limited contacting areas, i

-as the curved part l2 present-s veiy little'surr face to rub against thecabinet parts'. By the` construction described, the is provided` withprac-tica'l guiding ymeansenabling it to' be easily and smoothly moved into and out f of the cabinet while the original finish on the trayis preserved from'being marred or` in- ]ured. The beads 10 and rounded-upper connec'ting portions 12 also lstrengthen and reinfor'ce the body of the tray,'while the one- .provided with means for reducing to a minimum the friction and wear between the flanges C and the card lugs D so that a smooth surface is presented to the card lugs, said means also being adapted to maintain the side edges of the cards or card holders E out of contact with the side faces of the flanges C. These means, as shown in the drawings, see Figs. 3-5, are preferably in the form of an integral, rounded bead or rolled edge portion 13 formed at the lower or free edge of each of the flanges C, said edges 18 having rounded, longitudinal card lug enga-ging portions 13a extending along their lower extremities and rounded inwardly-extended and longitudinally-arranged side por-tions 13b adapted to limit lateral movements of the cards E by engaging their side edges, thereby also preventing these edges from contacting with the side faces of the flanges C. The cards are therefore subjected to much less wear than in cases where straight side flanges are provided, and consequently the life of they cards is prolonged. The free edges of the metal forming the flanges C are turned upwardly into the space between the flanges Cv and the side walls B of Lthe tray so that no part of the cards, holders, or other record devices can come into Contact therewith.

The tray shown in the drawings is provided with a cover plate 15 preferably formed of a thin', flat sheet of metal and which is adaptedto be pivotally connected to the rear part of the tray, by providing apertures in the flanges C into which lateral pivot parts 16 on the cover plate are adapted to extend, or in any other suitable manner. The body port-ion of the plate, as usual, extends from side to side of the tray between the flanges C, and its length is such that it extends over and covers the record matter on the exposed upper face of the uppermost card or holder E, leaving only the free edge of the card or holder exposed, see Fig. 1l. It will be noted that the adjacent vunderlying cards together normally tend to maintain the cover plate 15 substantially parallel with the bottom'A of the tray and in a plane close to the under side of the partition L above it, so that normally it may move with the tray beneath said partition without contacting therewith. However, in the use of the tray, the cards are manipulated to an extend such that they may become slightly buckled or flexed, or an additional number of cards may be added to the .card holders and forming a thicker layer of cards beneath the cover plate, thus `causing the cover plate to be lifted so that its outer or free portion is forced into engagement with the partition L above it, with resultant friction and wear, and consequent marring` of the finish on the cover plate 1-5. This invention `provides meansl for obviating this ob-` 1ection, and in ther preferred yform shown 1n i the drawings, these mea-ns comprise aplurality vof upwardly'extending, rounded portions or ribs 17 .whichmay be formed by integral bosses, or in any other suitable manner. The ribs 17,'as showninfFfigs 3 andl, are

adapted to afford the minimum of contact between the cover platev 15 and the adjacent partition" L, so thatsubstantially the whole area of the cover plate is maintained out of contact i with the partition under the conditions stated above, thus reducing friction between these parts and resulting in greater ease of operation and a minimum of rubbing or marring of the cover plate or other parts. The ribs 17 also give increased strength and rigidity to thefcover plate with no increase in weight. l/Vhenthe trays are used in acabinet, as stated above, they are'usually provided with ahinged tail piece, such asshown at 20,A

adapting the trays to be pulled out sufficiently to expose their contents, without being entirely removed from the cabinet. For this purpose the tail piece 20 is usually formed with depending hooks or parts 21, adapted to engage a part at the 'front of the cabinet, as for instance, the upturned hooked or flanged edge 22 ofthe partition L on which the tray slides, so preventing the tray from 'being withdrawn fromV the cabinet.V

In the cabinet shown in the drawings, the flanged Vedges QQterminate short of the junc-l ture of ,they partitions L with the cabinet side walls M, thus leaving spaces 23 for the lfree passa-ge of the offset, rounded ribs 10 ofthe trays, while the'lower edges of the tray front walls F are cut away so as to be flush 'with the lower faces ofthe bottoms A of the trays,

thereby permitting the interfitting of the tray fronts with the frontv edges of the partitions L.

The trays and cabinets, however, maybe formed without the tail pieces 2O and flanges l 22 respectively and they form no part ofthe presentinvention. 'Vile claim as our invention: c

1. In a tray or slide formed 'of sheet-metal and adapted to be slidably moved in and out of a cabinet having spaced tray-support-r ing parts between which the trays are adapted to slide, the top port-ions of la tray extending adjacent the supporting parts for. the tray next above, parts onsaid tray for maintaining record devicesthereon, and a hinged cover member-on said tra-y adaptedv to extend over and protect the record matterjonl one-` of said record devices, and relatively small, upwardly extending parts on said cover member adapted to engage the tray-supporting parts for the next upwardly adjacent tray to maintain the body portion of said cover member out of contact with said tray-supporting fparts, whereby friction between said cover and adjacent tray-supporting parts is reduced during sliding movements of said tray and wear on the body portionof the cover member is prevented.

2. In a tray or slide formed of sheet metal and adapted to be slidably moved into and out of a cabinet, a bottom on said tray adapted to support a plurality of hingedly connected record members and having an integral side wall formed along each longitudinal edge of said bottom, an inwardly extending integral top section formed along the top edge of each side' wall, a downwardly extending flange formed on each top section, and a longitudinal,:rounded bead formed on the bottom edge of each flange, said beadsV 3. In a tray or slide formed of sheet metal and adapted to be slidably moved into and out of-a cabinet, a bottom on said tray adapted to support a plurality of hingedly connected record members, integral, tubular beads hav- Y ing means for spacing said beadsfrom said V.bottom and adapted lto cooperate with said Vbottom to detaehably support hinge portions of said record members therebetween, said tubular beads also adaptedl to engage the edges of said record members during the .swinging thereof, and a sheet-metal cover member hingedlyV mounted Yon said tray adapted toextend over and protect the record matter on one of said record members,

' said cover member having embossed por- Vtions adaptedy to space said cover member apart from-said cabinetduring the movement of said tray.

4. A drawer for an index or file, having a bottom generally'l'at and horizontally disposed, tubular portions formed at the sides ot said bottom having portions extendingbelow the bottom, portions extending upwardly from said tubular portions toform the side walls, said' tubular portions projecting beyond said sidewalls, and inwardly and down-y wardly extending portions at the upper edges of' thel side wall portions terminating in spaced relation above the bottom.

'-5. A drawer for an index or file, having a bottom generally flat and horizontally disposed, tubular portions formed at the sides of saidfbottom having portions extending below the bottom, portions extending upwardly Jtrom said tubular portions to form'the side Walls, said tubular portions projecting-'be yond said side walls, and inwardly anddowm wardly extending portions terminating in beaded edges having the lower portions spaced from said bottom.

JAMES H. RAND, JR. LOUIS C. BROECKER. 

